Senong Comments On Absence Of 5 PSL Players From WC Squad

Thabo Senong Comments On Absence Of 5 PSL Players From World Cup Squad

Amajita Head Coach, Thabo Senong, announced his 28-man U20 World Cup Squad yesterday and has commented on the crisis he faces with the absence of the likes of Phakamani Mahlambi and Grant Margeman.

The South African Football Association confirmed on their official website that, due to club commitments, first-team Premier Soccer League players, Mahlambi, Margeman, Fagrie Lakay, Teboho Mokoena and Reeve Frosler will be absent from the first phase of Amajita training ahead of the U20 World Cup that will be held in South Korea in May this year, 2017.

SAFA then went on to confirm that the five players will be available for the second training camp which will take place next month, May 6.

The U20 World Cup will be held in South Korea during the period of May 20 and June 11.

Speaking to SAFA’s official website, Coach Senong admitted that he is accustomed to the circumstances he faces with the absence of some of his vital players and thinks that apart from the likes of Margeman playing at the highest level, the U20 camp will also aid in their development on an international level.

“This is a minor crisis and something we have become accustomed to, but there is not much we can do about it. We have a pool of players that we are monitoring and therefore we are able to make changes going into the camp. Unfortunately, we are dealing with a difficult age group as these players break into their first teams around the same time we need them at the national set up,” Senong said.

“But I am happy for players like Reeve Frosler and Grant Margeman because they are getting the much needed game time at the highest level locally and this will help us going forward. I still believe such a training camp would also have helped in their development as players especially at international level,” he added.

Comments

we need to mentally prepare these boys so dat they believe they win the tournament, I heard mbata nd mahlambi on wits tv saying they went to Afcon U20 to qualify for wc, well dats good but not de way they shud think. their mindset shud've been we win the Afcon so that we qualify for wc.